Low power devices like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags need low read currents in their embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) to maximize reading distance from an RFID transmitter. One known approach to sensing the state of a NVM cell is to set up read conditions on the memory cell and compare a cell current to a reference current that is generated in a sense amplifier. There are several known circuit designs to produce the reference current. A drawback of these designs, however, is that direct current is consumed by each sense amplifier. The direct current consumption can be in the order of 10s of microamperes to 100s of microamperes per sense amplifier depending on the read speed desired. The direct current consumed is multiplied by the number of sense amplifiers in the circuit. This total current adversely affects the read range of the RFID tag. The direct current can be reduced somewhat by slowing the sense amplifier, but it cannot be reduced beyond a certain point because there is a maximum read time allowed in the system.